Deca Sports 2 - WII - Preview 2

Following the success of the
original Deca Sports title on the
Wii, the fine folks at Hudson are back for a
second round in Deca Sports 2. If we were truly
honest with ourselves (and we rarely are), we might realize that the primary
reason the first game seemed so desirable was that it scratched a certain
gaming itch – more specifically, that which was set upon us by
Wii Sports. For all its simplistic beauty and
accessible fun, Wii Sports lacked the depth that
many sports gamers wished to burrow themselves in. The
Deca Sports franchise seems to present itself as a similarly accessible
sports title, even so much as imitating the Wii
Sports visual aesthetic in many areas. However, where Wii
Sports demonstrated the plausibility of sports on the Wii,
Deca Sports hopes to make such games feel
perfectly natural.

Granted, Deca
Sports 2 is still very family-friendly, and is simply enough to function as a
casual party game. This is certainly understandable, given the wide appeal the
platform holds for casual gamers. However, Deca
Sports 2 extends itself to an even wider array of demographics. Most of the
available titles, such as hockey and tennis, are instantly recognizable and
easy for newcomers to understand without getting bogged down in needless
complications. However, Deca Sports 2 also
includes a mode for petanque, a sort of
risk-versus-reward ball game similar to bocce. European audiences might
appreciation the addition, while US players will get to try their hand at
something new. Just imagine how worldly you’ll sound, explaining the rules of
petanque over at the water cooler!

The total variety of sport modes
gives Deca Sports a rather impressive resume.
While some will obviously be more grueling than others, the contrast is
generally welcome; you can always find something to suit your mood. In
addition to the conventional games like racing and dodge ball, you’ll get to
experiment with a few rarer treats, such and darts and kendo. Alright, so
maybe darts won’t be the main attraction, but the important thing is each mode
offers its own flavor of fun. The simple yet strangely addictive dodge ball
mode functions as essentially a reflex game. Not all modes were playable in
this preview build, but this is the one I found myself spending the most time
with. The nearly hypnotic repetition of throwing and dodging airborne spheres
awakens ancient memories of elementary school, though sadly, without the taste
of blood on the tongue. Unfortunately, I did seem to have a good bit of
success with this mode simply by mindlessly shaking the
Wii-Mote about, since this controls both actions of throwing and
dodging. Hopefully, this will be adjusted in the final build.

The level of character
customization in Deca Sports 2 seems minimal when
compared to Wii Sports; with so many people
spending countless hours constructing their digital Mii
counterparts, this will indubitably disappoint some players. Still, this would
be a silly, shallow complaint when weighed with the bulk of the game. The
variety and accessibility of Deca Sports 2 will
surely make it an appealing option for casual sports gamers of all ages.